


A New Book

by SamCyberCat



Category: Layton Kyouju Series | Professor Layton Series, Layton Kyouju vs Gyakuten Saiban | Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, 逆転裁判 | Gyakuten Saiban | Ace Attorney
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-05
Updated: 2017-02-05
Packaged: 2018-09-22 06:16:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9587732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SamCyberCat/pseuds/SamCyberCat
Summary: Arthur reflects upon the changes he's seen in the Labyrinthians.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Reposting of an old fic. Originally posted April 2015.

Upon returning to Labyrinthia after his treatment, Arthur found that it took some time to adjust. Not least because he was now a person amongst equals, as opposed to being a Storyteller amongst followers, but because Labyrinthia itself had changed over his absence.

Which was to be expected, given that every single person there was quite suddenly faced with the old lives they'd known actually being a farce. Many of them had to find new roles because of this. Though Arthur had to admit that he'd yet to see anyone approach this matter with anything less than joy and wonderment. They'd found a freedom they never had before and a society where the rules were their own. No matter what had been in their pasts, they were determined to make the most of what they had now. It was admirable.

The only downside to this was that they'd had the whole time Arthur had been in hospital to adjust their lives. So once Arthur came back, he felt that he was at a disadvantage to them.

All the same, everyone was good about this. He'd been worried that his role as the Storyteller might have caused some aggravation amongst the people and even felt that they'd be justified in this. But on the contrary, he was welcomed back with open arms. Not least by his daughter Espella, who wanted to repair the bonds that had become damaged in the years they'd been estranged from each other.

Eve was perhaps the most cautious of Arthur, not that he'd blame her for that. It was rare that he would meet up with Espella without Eve also being present, protectively hovering nearby. There was no debating the bond that Eve and Espella shared. If Arthur ever wanted to fully heal the wounds he'd caused Espella, then he'd also have to do the same for Eve. They were the two key parts of the grand story and had suffered the most because of it.

But for now, Arthur was taking little steps. He knew that earning Eve's forgiveness would take time, if he managed it at all. It would not do to rush in and demand something he didn't yet have the right to have.

Just like with all of the changes, what Arthur needed was to learn to be passive. His operation had been a humbling experience in that regard. For the first time, his future was the one at the mercy of other people – whatever happened to him lay in the hands of the doctors. He felt frightened at times, he wouldn't lie about that. And through this it dawned on him exactly what he'd done to all of the people in Labyrinthia. Because to them, he was the one controlling their fates. While none of them would actually die, they were all made to feel as if their lives rested entirely in the whims of the Storyteller, in the same way that Arthur's life did with the doctors.

It was this realisation that had sparked the biggest change in Arthur. Because as hard as it was to get used to the citizens making strides ahead without him, he knew that they deserved to be able to make their own choices about what the future held for them.

So he would sit back and watch them, filled with pride, awe and a pang of jealousy. They were not his people now, they were their own people. And they flourished in a way that they never could under his dictation.

He knew now that he loved each one of them like his family and he'd never hurt them again.


End file.
